When I saw that football was no longer an option in life, and began my regular working career, I still wanted a way to stay close to the athletic lifestyle I was so accustomed to growing up. I became a part time personal trainer and trained other athletes who wanted to get bigger, faster and stronger, or just wanted to maintain a strong healthy lifestyle. I was approached by a client who wanted to compete. I actually told her that I could refer her to other trainers who I knew had experience in coaching competitors. She wanted to stay loyal to my training and asked if I could coach her for competition. I knew I would have to change a lot of things we did with her training and diet so I sought help from a fellow trainer at my gym who is actually a bodybuilder himself. After that conversation I felt that the only way I could affectively coach my client for competition, would be to do one myself. I took a weekend to think about it, and with the help of my bodybuilding colleague, I learned how to diet and condition myself properly for competition. I did an 8 week prep and came out great for my first physique competition. Although I didn't place, I learned a lot and was able to transfer that knowledge over to my client';s competition prep. She went on to place 4th in her first competition, and that was a win for me as well. I've been hooked ever since.